“Tell The World I’m Coming Home”

Wow. Time has flown by. We’re already a few weeks away from Thanksgiving break, our first extended break. There is a lot of excitement around this time, and for good reason. Thanksgiving is fun! You get to relax, watch football, see friends and family, and, of course, eat all the food your stomach can handle.

It is time for a well deserved break, and “Coming Home” is more then just a song with an amazing hook ruined by Diddy.

This song would have been perfect with any other rapper but that’s besides the point.

A lot has changed since you left, both in yourself, family, and friends. Although it hasn’t been too long, expect this break to be different from some of the weekend trips home that you made to combat homesickness. These breaks go past the Honeymoon period, and often times, there are conflicts. Here are some things to prepare and expect for break.

1. Family

I want to preface this by saying your family loves you more then anyone else. Everything they do, they do out of love and they want the absolute best for you. Being said, sometimes they can really get on your nerves, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little fighting. This is especially true during this first break for one big reason. You have spent the last few months independent, and boy, isn’t it amazing? You have been responsible for yourself for a while now, but when you come home, both you and your parents may conflict around the rules of the house.

My first time home my parents always wanted me home by eleven…ELEVEN.

“Eleven” from “Stranger Things”

I had gotten used to being able to stay up and out as late as I wanted, but my parents wanted me home at a certain time. Although it sucked, remember that it is their house and their rules. They are not used to you being independent, and to them you are still a child, regardless of your new experiences. There may be times when you don’t think you should have to take out the trash or do the dishes, but just do it. It isn’t worth the fight. Truth be told I seldom go home because I need my independence, but it is important to remember that going home isn’t just about yourself. Your family wants to see you more than anyone else. The really love you, so try your best to not butt heads with them over the little things.

2. Friends

Some of you have probably seen some of your friends. They’ve either visited you or vice versa, or maybe you went home the same weekend. However, that is not the case for everyone, and in all likelihood, you haven’t been around your whole friend group, at home, now that you’ve spent some time apart and gotten to grow a bit. Although not always, there may be a little identity crisis between yourself, your friends, and how your group acts. It is important to be yourself in those situations and not revert back to the old you.

Although it is nice to just pick things up where they left off, there is no way everyone is the same as when they left. If it is awkward at times that’s okay! It is all part of the growing experience. Everyone is a lot less mature before they come to college. There will be that Honeymoon period when you all tell stories about your college experiences thus far and laugh. Once you reach past that point you’ll discover who you really want to be around and who you don’t. Sometimes when people grow, they grow apart, and that’s okay.

However, don’t fret too much because chances are it’ll just be a ton of fun to see all of your old friends and catch up. People change, but your real friends will always be there and will always support you. Those are the people you’ll love being around. Make sure that you’re safe though, as this is your first time together after all of you have experienced independence.

3. School Work

Now, I am not you, and I don’t know your ability to function when you have a lot going on and a rising number of infinite distractions. But if you are like me, get all of your work done before you go home. This will be your first time at home for an extended period of time. Also, when you return, it is two weeks and then finals. Around this time you may think to yourself “Hey, I’ll just do all of my projects over break. They aren’t due until after break, so I’ll be okay, I’m a good worker and I should be fine. I was able to do work over my breaks in high school and this shouldn’t be too different.”

YOU SOUND LIKE A FOOL. Trust me when I say to get everything done before break, because you will not find the time to do all of the projects you have. At home there will be a million different distractions and all of them way more fun then your projects! You are going back to see everyone you haven’t in quite some time, and they will want to see you. You’ll already have your parents fighting your friends for you. You’re going to want to be home relaxing, not home working. You don’t want to stress on your last Sunday trying to catch up on literally everything. It’ll be better if you can ease your way back in to school. Otherwise you’ll have two very stressful weeks and then finals.